DEREK Riordan's two goals which brought Hibernian their victory should not be overshadowed by the drama that engulfed this game's closing stages as Aberdeen's Charlie Mulgrew was ordered off for handling the ball on the goal-line as the visitors grabbed three points.

The goalmouth incident was against the run of play with Steven Fletcher offside but that is of no consequence today as Mixu Paatelainen, the Hibs manager, takes satisfaction from the win which leaves Aberdeen at the bottom of the table and still looking for their first home victory of the season.

Fletcher's flick of the ball hit Mulgrew's hand and referee Mike McCurry may have taken the view that Riordan's strike which was helped on by his team-mate would have gone in. That was certainly Riordan's opinion.

"My shot was going in anyway and I told Fletcher that," he said last night, "even though he was offside. We deserved our win and I certainly feel I'm getting better with every game and that my fitness levels are improving."

Riordan's opener, just after the half hour, underlined his confidence when offered a scoring chance as he cashed-in on Lee Mair's sloppy pass-back to his goalkeeper, Jamie Langfield, to score from an acute angle.

The error clearly displeased Jimmy Calderwood, the Aberdeen manager.

"We dominated the game," he insisted. "We can play better but we put in a tremendous amount of effort, though we knew it was always going to dangerous with Colin Nish, Steven Fletcher and Derek Riordan up front as we recognised they could hit us on the break. Again it was a mistake from a player who has been playing really well for us which gave them the equaliser."

Calderwood admitted to being bemused over the referee's decision for Aberdeen's penalty award just before the interval when Sol Bamba brought down Lee Miller in the box. "You don't like to see players sent off," he said, "but if Bamba conceded the penalty, why wasn't he sent off? That could have changed the whole game."

Played at a high tempo, it was a game which enthralled the crowd as the home side pushed for the win.

Sone Aluko's verve on the left, not to say his dangerous crosses, excited the home fans. And, when he dispossessed Bamba midway into the Hibs half on 15 minutes it resulted in Darren Mackie sending in Richard Foster. But the latter's attempt to place his shot prompted Yves Ma-Kalamby, the Hibs goalkeeper, into an acrobatic save.

Ma-Kalamby was to make two further good stops - from Mackie and a bullet of a volley from Miller - but the visitors kept calm under pressure and sought to counter attack, the best of the first-half manoeuvres coming from Lewis Stevenson's cut-back for a Riordan strike which was only slightly off target.

The striker made amends in the 33rd minute with a well-executed goal, the result of a blunder by Aberdeen's Mair, whose pass-back to his goalkeeper fell short to allow Riordan to fire a low, angular shot into a gaping net.

Lady Luck and the referee smiled on Aberdeen nine minutes later as Bamba and Miller went shoulder-to-shoulder in the box and the home side were awarded a spot kick which was converted by the Aberdeen striker. The tenacity with which the Pittodrie side approached the second half was admirable, though it produced no dividend. But the tactic of defending from the front changed the game as Hibs found themselves largely unable to get going.

Despite Aberdeen's dominance, however, breaking down a resolute Easter Road defence proved difficult. By midway through the second half Aluko had run out of steam and Mackie had been replaced by Chris Maguire, preferred to Tommy Wright, ther £75,000 signing from Darlington, who continued to warm the bench .

Dean Shiels was invited to help Hibernian pull something out of the bag as he replaced the impressive - but injured - Steven Thicot while Derek Young was introduced for Jared Hodgkiss.

The substitutions all came within a few minutes of each other and changed the landscape of this game soon after with the drama of Mulgrew being red carded for handling the ball on the goal-line 12 minutes from the end.

It came after Langfield stopped a Nish shot which fell for Riordan. His effort was flicked on by Fletcher and Mulgrew must have felt his only option was to use his hand. Riordan's spot kick proved the winner.

Aberdeen substitutes: Maguire for Mackie 65, Young for Hodgkiss 76 Not used: Bossu, McDonald, Wright, Duff, Considine Booked:Severin 89 Sent off: Mulgrew 78 Hibernian substitutes: Shiels for Thicot 74 Not used: McNeil, Yamtorno, Keenan, Hanlon, Chisholm, Pinau Booked: Nish 45.

Referee: M McCurry Att: 10,793